Double for Dresselhouse as fourth round marked midpoint of WRCR winter series

Mid-Season Race Report

WRCR Round#4 Points Race

Report by: Tom Erickson

Photos by: Kymm Thompson

 

 

The fourth round of racing ended on December 17th signifying the midpoint of the Winter Points season at WRCR.  It was a cold and snowy day at the Washtenaw County Fairgrounds near Ann Arbor, Michigan which did not deter the more that 50 people that came to fight for points toward the championship.  Attendance was strong again with 106 entries.  This season so far has seen a few drivers dominating in their classes.  

 

Novice Class

 

This season the Novice class has been as competitive as ever.  In Round#4, points leader Troy Wells was a no show leaving Terry Bush, Mark Kohler, and Milo Spieth to fight it out to grab precious points.  Mark has been supporting his son Zach over the past few seasons and is now trying his hand at the racing game.  He was able to secure the TQ spot after the three rounds of qualifying ended with Terry Bush in second and Milo in third.  In the main event Mark was not able to get through the option section clean allowing Terry and Milo through.  Todd Aker, who started fourth, was also close behind as they crossed the finish line on the first lap.  After a few laps Mark regained his composure avoiding Milo as he crashed moving Mark into second and Todd into third.  As the laps clicked off the battle for third place was close each lap.  It was Milo setting the fastest lap of the day in this class on the last lap to overtake Todd.  Terry ran a smooth race with the best consistency grabbing his first win of the season in this class.  Mark held down 2nd place, and Milo in 3rd place.

 

 

Novice A-Main Podium

Open Mini Class

 

New entries in the Open Mini class continue to see this class grow with Matt lemorie, Joe and Brandon Phillips joining the fun.  Points leader Joe Gates put down the pace in qualifying to capture TQ and lead the field at the start of the A-main.  Matt Lemorie, running Joe’s Mini E-Revo, started in second position with Ben Belote starting from third.  The track is pretty large for these mini race vehicles.  The top three jockeyed for position on the first lap with Ben crossing the line in first on the opening lap.  Matt was able to get around Joe to hold second place.  Joe Phillips was close behind in fourth place turning laps at the same pace as the lead group.  On the second lap Tom Erickson retired his Mini Rally car with an electrical problem.  Ben held the lead for many laps with Matt chasing close behind.  Matt pressed hard and was able to lay down his fastest laps and passed Ben for the lead.  At the finish of the five minute main event it was Matt in 1st place, Ben in 2nd place, and Joe Gates in 3rd place.  With this win Ben move up in the points chase setting up a challenge with Joe for the overall title.

 

 

Open Mini A-Main Podium

Stampede Class

 

This season has been dominated by Ben Belote in his Green and Yellow Stampede as he won all three rounds so far without a single TQ.  In Round#4 Ben showed his skills with the stampede and secured his first  TQ spot on the starting grid.  Sean Carney did his best pressuring Ben with some solid runs but had to settle for second starting position.  The start was anything but clean as Ben tagged a tube causing the top trucks to ball up together.  Dan Burnham, with his yellow streak touring car stampede, chose the outside lane and passed everyone to grab the lead on the opening lap.  Ben was close behind with Matt Lemorie close in third.  Dan could not hold off Ben for long dropping back to fifth place after tumbling in a corner.  Matt was in second and C.J. Boka holding firm in third.  By mid race Matt overtook Ben for a lap as CJ and Joe Gates pressured the lead pair.  Matt flipped his stampede in the spine turn slipping back to fourth place.  This gave Ben a little breathing room and set up a battle to the end for second between Joe and CJ.  As the tone sounded it was Ben on a victory lap confirming his win streak, CJ in second just edging out Joe who finished third.  Ben has a great start to the season winning every round so far but the points lead is narrow with Matt only 3 points back.  

 

 

Stampede A-Main Podium

Stock Buggy 17.5t Blinky Class

So far this season there are only two drivers with wins, Kenny Ferris and Tom Erickson.  Both of them with TQs as well.  In round#4 it was no surprise that Kenny returned with a TQ after three rounds of qualifying.  Dan Dresselhouse pushed hard to attempt to take over the TQ without success.  

 

Stock Buggy B-Main

 

Nat Potter started from the first position in the B-main for a second consecutive round.  In the main event his fast lap shows that he has the speed to make the A-main running fast on the opening laps in the lead.  Evan Rushbrook was able to get through traffic to assume the second position right from the start with Zach Kohler close behind.  Josh Aker bumped into the third spot for a few laps and even ran as high as second before a crash sent him back.  No one could match Nat’s speed allowing him to capture the win.  Evan held off all comers for 2nd place and Zach rounded out to podium in 3rd place.

 

 

Stock Buggy B-Main Podium

Stock Buggy A-main

 

Round#4 had a full attendance of the top drivers of the season.  The start of the A-main was smooth for most of the field.  Patrick Ferris started in the third position was send back due to issues on the first lap.  Kenny and Ben sped through the opening laps.  Tom Erickson, who started fourth on the grid assumed third and Dan Dresselhouse was in fourth.  Ben held off a charge from Tom early on but after a few laps the gap began to grow.  At the halfway point Dan came up on Tom and was able to get past him after a few laps of jockeying.  The lead four buggies were outpacing the field.  As the laps closed Kenny won his third event of the season with Ben in 2nd place and Dan in 3rd place.  Kenny has a commanding lead in the points championship so far.  

 

 

Stock Buggy A-Main Podium

Stock Short Course Truck 17.5t Blinky

 

To Stock Short Course class has been and exciting class to watch this season.  Dan Dresselhouse was lacking only one point heading into Round#4.  Sean Carney, Tom Erickson, Andy Dresselhouse have split the second place points between them.  This round it was Danny again dominating in qualifying and capturing the TQ yet again.  Sean gave as much as he could only missing the TQ by a few seconds behind.  At the start of the A-main Dan led the pack through the early option lane starting out with a fast pace.  Sean held off Tom as Patrick Ferris pressured them for the second position.  After a few laps Tom passed Sean taking over the second position as Dan extended his lead.  Tom and Sean were so well matched that they traded positions almost every turn.  By halfway it was clear that the podium would be Dan, Tom and Sean but in what order?  Late in the 7 minute main, chasing Sean for the pass, Tom flipped his truck on the off camber sliding on it’s lid to a dead stop.  This gave Sean a large enough gap to hold on for second place.  Dan crossed the line in 1st place, Sean in 2nd place and Tom in 3rd place.  With the Mid season drop, Dan has a perfect score for the season with a commanding lead.    

 

 

Stock SCT A-Main Podium

4x4 Short Course Truck

 

The sheer power of the 4x4 Short Course trucks are evident as soon as they enter the track.  Conner Stanley has demonstrated this class in every event that he has attended this season.   Qualifying was all Conner as he wheeled his TLR SCTE around the tight track securing the TQ for the main event.  Matt Lemorie was the only one to match his lap times in qualifying and started the main in the second position.  Matt charged forward at the start working to pressure Conner and ready to capitalized on any mistake.  The pair quickly developed a large lead on the rest of the pack led by Corey Blue.  Conner was flawless as he clocked the laps each lap.  Matt was not able to maintain the pace and held second position.  Corey but down a solid run never challenged for the third position.  The fourth position fight during the opening laps between Glenn “Handy” Remington, Steve Boster and Anthony Wright went on for many laps.  As the clock ran out Conner crossed the line in 1st place, Matt in 2nd place, and Corey in 3rd place.  Anthony held off all comers to finish 4th.  Conner has a strong points lead as the season hits the mid-point.

 

 

4x4 SCT A-Main Podium

4wd Open Buggy Class

 

Competition this season in the 4wd Buggy class has been intense with four drivers achieving podium spots splitting the points along the way.  In round#4 it seemed that Dan Dresselhouse had his B44.3 fully dialed and set the TQ early.  Conner Stanley challenged every round with his TLR 22-4 but had to settle for second on the starting grid.  At the start of the main event Dan took off setting a blistering pace right from the start.  Conner crashed on the initial lap sending him back to sixth place allowing Forrest Remington into the second position.  Ben Belote followed through into third.  Ben slipped into second passing Forrest as Conner came back up into the mix.  Patrick Ferris, last season’s champion, also joined the battle for second place.  By mid race Dan held the lead by only 10 seconds over Forrest in second and Ben in third.  Ben set his fastest lap reducing the gap with Forrest and passed him again to take over the second position.   A few laps beyond the pass, Forrest laid down the fastest lap of the day but it was not good enough to get ahead of Ben.  As the clock came to a close, Conner avoided crashes by both Ben and Forrest to overtake the second position.  Dan crossed the line in 1st place, Conner held onto 2nd place, and it was Ben to hold onto 3rd.  Dan is holding the points lead with a very small margin over Forrest and Conner.  Ben and Tom Erickson are within shooting distance if they can step up their game. This is turning out to be the tightest points chase of the season.

 

 

4wd Buggy A-Main Podium

Stock Stadium Truck 17.5t Blinky Class

 

This season it may seem that Dan Dresselhouse has a commanding lead over the large field of participants.  He secured the TQ in the first three rounds but only one win.  Conner Stanley captured the win in the first two events.  In Round#4 Dan was not the fastest qualifier as Kenny Ferris chose to join the fun.  Kenny set the fastest run in qualifying stealing the TQ away from Dan who started in the second position.  At the start Kenny fell back to sixth after flipping his truck in the first section.  Dan avoided any trouble and grabbed the lead early on.  Conner Stanley slipped into the second position with Uncle Bob in third and C.J. Boka in fourth.  Kenny quickly moved back up to third and set his sights on Conner for second position.  This required that Kenny out pace Conner which he did by setting the fastest lap of the class.  Kenny and Conner battle back and forth for many laps but late in the race Conner crashed losing both the chase for second and third place.  C.J. Boka took over third place on the last lap crossing he line with only 1.7 seconds ahead of Conner.  Dan grabbed his second win, Kenny finished in 2nd place, and C.J. in 3rd place.  This finish gives Dan a healthy lead in the points over Conner and C.J. Boka.  

 

 

Stock Truck A-Main Podium

Modified Short Course Truck Class

 

The Mod Short Course Truck class has been a mainstay at the Washtenaw RC Raceway Winter Season.  Gary Reiser has dominating qualifying setting the TQ pace in the first three rounds leading the points.  In round#4 this changed as Matt Lemorie bested his qualifying run to capture the TQ and breaking Gary’s streak.  The main event started with Gary passing Matt in the opening section leading the way through the tight loose track.  Gary is a very consistent driver forcing Matt to drive hard and run fast and consistent as well.  Mark “Peanut M&M” Thompson pushed his way into the third position after early tangles with his daughter Kymm “Skittles” Thompson.  For the lead pair the race was all about the gap between them.  By mid race Gary still held the lead with a 10 second lead ahead of Matt.  Each lap thereafter the gap began to shrink.  The last lap began with only a 0.5 second gap with Gary still in the lead.  Matt maintained his faster pace and was able to get around Gary and cross the finish line for the win by only 0.324 seconds.  The finishing order was Matt in 1st place, Gary in 2nd place and Mark in 3rd place.  This TQ and win moved Matt closer in points with Gary.  The remaining events will be crucial for these two drivers to determine who will be this season’s champion.  

 

 

Mod SCT  A-Main Podium

King-of-the-Hill Winner: Anthony Wright

 

The 2016-17 season is going strong with again over 100 entries for round#4.  This week the 100-Grand bar went to Anthony Wright  in the King-of-the-Hill class.   The next points event is planned for January 7th, 2016 were we will have a new layout.  Doors open at 8AM with racing starting at 10AM.  Don’t forget the 4th Annual Alzheimer's Race on December 28th, 2016 where doors will open later at 10AM.  Look for the season schedule at www.WRCR.biz or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WashtenawRcRaceway/